


As Beautiful as They Were

by InfiniteJediLove



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Genre: Evil Scientists - Freeform, M/M, merman au, preslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 16:26:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6247216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteJediLove/pseuds/InfiniteJediLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>GEV-sotal is a barren world known for it’s scientific research. However, when an undercover Jedi investigates the planet, he is horrified by the scientists’ brutal experimentation on sentient beings.</p><p>This happened because a lovely anon on tumblr prompted me to write an Obi/Qui ‘Little Mermaid’ sort of AU. Needless to say, it turned out very different than the Little Mermaid, but it does still have merman!Obi-Wan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	As Beautiful as They Were

In his years as a Jedi Knight, Qui-Gon had acquired several personas quickly applicable to certain circumstances where his Jedi identity had to remain hidden. But never before had he had to pretend such indifference to atrocity as he did now. He followed the man in front of him, keeping a slightly disinterested look on his face as the man gestured to several ‘projects’.

The warehouse they stood in was cold, and strange smells drifted from odd corners. Qui-Gon had difficulty recalling how long he had been here. He had arrived at GEV-sotal’s research center weeks ago, but had only now been granted access to examine their ‘research’. Under the guise of a scientist, he was shown more than a regular visitor was and certainly more than what would ever be revealed to the Jedi. GEV-sotal was known for it’s interest in cloning and gene manipulation, but it’s lack of proper reporting had brought it to the Senate’s attention and the Temple had assigned Qui-Gon to investigate the matter. It was a good they had, for he saw as he was led deeper into the warehouse more and more horrors labeled as ‘scientific’. 

They passed a glass room where several piles of organs were being sorted by droids who seemed oblivious to the frozen hearts and livers they tossed unto separate mounds. At Qui-Gon’s uncontrollable grimace, the head doctor smiled. He was a short heavy man, with a round friendly face. 

“Ah, that’s the organ room, we’re experimenting on regeneration, and its good to have extra organs in case of failure in a test case.” 

Qui-Gon dipped his head in a nod, his face blank with aloofness, but inside he recoiled. He had known from the moment he started the investigation that people were being subjected to terrible experimentation but he had not considered the length the scientists would go to manipulate life or to destroy it. 

They passed a hall that was filled with sealed rooms, behind which loud electronic beeps came. Qui-Gon fingered the hem of his sleeve, his only concession to the turmoil inside him. He wanted to arrest the scientist immediately, to break into every locked room, but he could only follow the man, pretending to be interested in the grotesque world around him. 

They were alone for a long time before Qui-Gon spotted a woman in another corridor, a doctor by the look of the shoulder insignia on her standard uniform. She approached with a frown, 

“Tank eleven is giving us problems.” She said and the head scientist gave a friendly shrug, 

“Nothing we can do until he’s ready for another round of sedation.” 

She shook her head, lips pressed tightly together in irritation before walking off. 

“Tank eleven?” Qui-Gon questioned, wondering if he should gather more information. 

The shorter man blinked up at him, his gaze almost triumphant. 

“Ah, yes. It’s one of our best projects. Took years to figure it all out. Unfortunately we’re still working out a few problems before settling into mass production. But it should be very successful.” 

Qui-Gon titled his head, fixing the man with a faintly challenging expression, 

“I would like to see this project.” 

He reached out with the Force, applying pressure when he met slight resistance, watching closely until the head doctor smiled again, 

“I suppose you’ll want to see the project.” The man repeated, a bit dazed before turning and leading him down the hall. 

They took a turbolift down to a dark basement. Here the smells were a mix of chemicals and water and Qui-Gon looked questioningly at the doctor who stepped out of the lift with a spring in his step. The hall was empty except for a large door at the end. As they approached the sealed door, the smell became stronger. The doctor keyed in his code and the door slid open. 

The sight before Qui-Gon was bizarre, like something from a dream. He stared. A tank took up most of the small room. Some creature was in it, a person…he took a step forward before stopping short. The room was dark but for the tank, lit with interior light. The tank was full of water, the clearness of it permeated with a slight greenish tone, The creature inside appeared dead at first, drifting in the water, a twisted shape. Sedated. Qui-Gon remembered. He moved closer, unable to look away. 

He’d never heard of a species like this. The torso and head were that of a human male, but the lower body was scaled…where there should be legs was a large amphibious tail, the scales there gleaming iridescent in the inner lights of the tank. Deep purple, silver, teal, turquoise, it was impossible to say the exact color of the armored tail. The human upper body was icy pale as if it had never seen sunlight. The face was turned away, brown short hair ruffling with the movement of water. 

“Nice isn’t it?” the head doctor remarked with a slightly obscene smile, “I’ve got offers from all over for another one like him, but he’s the only one that survived the gene altering.” 

Qui-Gon stepped forward until he was nearly brushing the glass. The scientist twitched slightly,

“You may want to stay your distance. He’s broken two tanks so far, he can get quite fiery when the other doctors mess with him.” 

Qui-Gon swallowed but kept his voice calm and detached.. 

“Do you always drug him?” 

The man near him grunted, 

“Practically have to. He’ll change form and kick anyone who gets near him. Dr. Stels’lin was nearly killed when he attempted to start a breeding program. Wanted to mate him with a Nautolan and see what happened with the offspring, but there was no chance of it, the thing fought so hard, they had to give it up.” 

“How does he change form?” Qui-Gon asked and the doctor smiled that smile again, as if Qui-Gon was offering a price for the amphibious man. 

“Something special they figured out in the programming, damned if I know how it all works. He looks human when he changes form, but underwater he has to stay this way. He’s a pretty one, either way.” 

Qui-Gon looked back at the tank, at the man who floated there, comatose. The doctor stepped to the side of the tank, gesturing. 

“You get a view of his face over here.” 

Qui-Gon followed, sickened by the cruel enjoyment in the scientist’s eyes. This was worse than what he had thought. He looked through the greenish cast water. The man’s eyes were half-closed, the head tilted back, lips parted. He looked young, handsome, defenseless in the tank, as if he had already drowned, as if they were watching a corpse. A beep came near them and the scientist glanced over at a machine near the tank. 

“He’ll wake up soon. If you’re lucky, you’ll see him change form.” 

Qui-Gon kept his gaze on the man in the tank. He had no idea how the creature would switch from what he was to being completely human. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Whatever the supposed geneticists had done to the young man was inhumane. A closer glance had revealed white scars along the alien’s body, an offset of certain scales showing similar damage. They had tortured the man at one time or another, and seemed to drug him often. Qui-Gon forced himself to find scientific questions to ask, if only to fill the hollow despair building inside him,

“Do the drugs do any damage?” 

The head doctor glanced up at him curiously, 

“Not so much that it’s noticeable. He’s impossible to contain for long periods of time, without being sedated. He nearly escaped from us a few years ago. We’re hoping that the next batch we develop will be more docile.” 

Qui-Gon bit the inside of his cheek but remained calm, 

“Is aggressiveness his only problem?” 

The doctor frowned, 

“Well he’s mute. We’re not sure when it happened, possibly when they tried to rewire his neural pathways when he was in adolescence. He never spoke much anyway. It’s not really important and doesn’t seem to relate to his morphing abilities.” 

Qui-Gon looked up sharply as the limp figure in the tank suddenly twitched, shuddering. 

“Good, he’s waking up.” the doctor said, rounding the corner of the tank, Qui-Gon followed, pausing as the man in the tank rolled over, nearer the glass facing them. 

The man’s eyes were fully open now, his gaze sharp and calculating. The large irises were a beautiful color, like the open sea at dawn. No trace of the drug seemed apparent as the man lashed his heavy tail, his expression watchful. The creature’s bare torso was so pale that the skin gleamed now that the water was rapidly clearing of its green tone. In the man’s eyes there was intelligence and anger. It was the anger of the hopelessly caged and Qui-Gon felt something rise in his throat as he gazed at the strange man in the tank. 

“He’ll change form if I drain the tank.” The scientist said, reaching over and tapping something into the machine. 

With a rushing noise the water began to lower quickly. The man swiveled in the water, frantically attempting to escape. Qui-Gon’s breath caught when a burst of light came, swirling over the man’s body, so bright that Qui-Gon blinked and had to look away. When he turned back, the young man was standing in the tank now. Slender but strong legs supported the slim, underfed frame. The man backed up in the tank and the doctor muttered, 

“Watch it,” right before the young man leapt at the glass, a fist impacting with brutal force for such a thin man. 

“Stop.” Qui-Gon whispered and was unsure whom he was speaking to as the man threw his naked body against the glass, teeth bared, eyes wide, the portly scientist watching in exasperated amusement. 

The man backed up again, water glistening on his skin and the scientist gave Qui-Gon a look, leaning over to confide, 

“You see, these type will be worth a fortune once we can get the problems figured out. The exotic factor alone will be priceless.” 

Qui-Gon clenched his jaw, unsure if he could keep himself separate from the horror of it all. He looked at the young man who was circling the tank now, fully mobile on his legs and it was difficult to imagine that alien tail he had had, or how still he had been in the water, minutes earlier. He wondered if the man had a name at one time, or if he had always been there as an experiment. It was awful in its starkness. The dim room lit by the tank, the naked man inside, fighting to get out. 

“Well, I’ll set the tank to refill in an hour, he’ll knock himself out otherwise, trying to get free.” The head scientist remarked blithely, already turning towards the door. 

Qui-Gon followed slowly, trying to remain impassive to the sound of flesh hitting the glass wall of the tank over and over. They had walked through numerous halls, down several floors, but the layout of the warehouse remained a perfect map in his mind. He would return in a few hours, when the night shift took over. He had enough evidence against the research station to return to the Temple, but he would not leave GEV-sotal without the strange young man. 

* * *

The morning air was thick with mist, moisture beading on Qui-Gon’s skin as he walked down one of Xelvin’s deserted beaches. The sound of waves lapping against the sand was the only noise around him. He approached the large rocks that had tumbled from some ancient melting glacier billions of years ago. Now they lay on the warm shores of Xelvin, a planet so sparsely populated that Qui-Gon had not met another individual since he had landed his shuttle in the grasslands a day’s journey from the ocean. He climbed the rocks with the easy grace of a Jedi, his tunics damp with the ocean spray. He had removed his boots earlier and the wetness of the rock against his bare feet felt nice. He looked out at the fog, thinking of that day, three years ago now, that he had first came here. 

A distant splash reached his ears and Qui-Gon smiled, knowing the sound had been made to alert him, for the noise came from a creature that could swim with complete silence. The splashes grew closer and in seconds a pale shape rose slightly from the water near the rock Qui-Gon sat on. 

“Hello.” Qui-Gon said. 

The young man watching him, tilted his head. His face remained clean shaven but his hair had grown long enough to brush his shoulders. The large eyes watched him with quiet contentment and Qui-Gon found it difficult to recall the rage he had seen in them once. The distrust he recalled better. that had lingered during most of their journey to Xelvin. The young man had no knowledge of anything but the random cruelty of scientists. But an agreement had come between them, wariness edging into acceptance as Qui-Gon had not stayed longer than was necessary to show the man how to survive. 

It had not surprised him that the man chose to live in the ocean. On the many returns that Qui-Gon had made in the last three years, the man had not appeared in his fully human form. His name was still a mystery but he allowed Qui-Gon to call him Obi-Wan, a male name that meant ‘water’ in Qui-Gon’s home language. 

Obi-Wan had not recovered the ability to speak and refrained from interacting with other people, yet he always knew when Qui-Gon would come. Obi-Wan reached up, steadying himself against the rock as water washed over him. He was still quite pale, the scars from years of captivity visible, his gaze quiet and wise as he looked up at Qui-Gon. 

“How are you?” Qui-Gon asked. 

The man did not answer, just shifted in the ocean, Qui-Gon catching a glimpse of iridescent scales under the water’s surface. 

“Are you happy?” he questioned and the man smiled slightly, reaching up and resting a wet smooth hand on the top of Qui-Gon’s left bare foot. 

The gesture was unexpected and gentle. Qui-Gon reached out, touching the man’s long hair that held an auburn cast to it, now that it had grown out some. He had never feared violence from Obi-Wan, for the man’s anger in the tank at GEV-sotal had been fueled by desperation and a need to escape. Now, three years later, GEV-sotal’s research station had been closed, the scientists arrested, and Obi-Wan was free to live as he wished on Xelvin.

Obi-Wan blinked up at him, and Qui-Gon was reminded how little they knew of each other. His life as a Jedi had not made sense to Obi-Wan. He knew enough to know he was understood, that Obi-Wan was very intelligent, but the man’s muteness and separation from any society impaired their lives from connecting in too many ways. 

It was as it should be, Qui-Gon thought later, when he left Xelvin. He could not deny that he was drawn to Obi-Wan, powerfully in a way he did not understand, even to the point where he kept his visits to Xelvin a secret from the Council, unsure what they would think of such attachment. 

* * *

When he returned to Xelvin’s ocean the following year, it was late afternoon. The sun shone with rare brightness and Qui-Gon wondered if Obi-Wan would be there. The stretch of beach was deserted as always, but he worried still, feeling disappointed and oddly vulnerable on the sunlit rock. As time passed, his worry increased. He was afraid Obi-Wan had become injured, perhaps killed by a different sea creature. He considered searching the shoreline when a splash came out of the corner of his eye and he saw the bright flash of scales as Obi-Wan swam toward him. The man moved sleekly in the water, stopping at the rock Qui-Gon sat on and looking up at him. 

“Hello,” Qui-Gon said, as he always did, and Obi-Wan smiled that rare perfect smile. 

A burst of light came and Qui-Gon thought it was a reflection of sunlight on the water’s surface but then Obi-Wan was climbing up the rock with ease. Qui-Gon automatically extended a hand to help, Obi-Wan grasping it firmly, pulling himself up so that he sat next to Qui-Gon, unashamed of his nudity. The surprise of Obi-Wan changing form outweighed everything else and it was minutes later when Qui-Gon realized that they were still holding hands. They sat quietly, bodies close enough that Qui-Gon could feel the brush of Obi-Wan’s bare shoulder against his tunic, their hands clasped. Obi-Wan’s fingers felt slender and strong in Qui-Gon’s loose grip, the fingerpads lightly callused. 

Sometime later Obi-Wan slipped back into the water and tugged at Qui-Gon’s hand and Qui-Gon followed him. He was a good swimmer, but no match for Obi-Wan, who could move with nearly the same grace and speed in his human form as he did in his amphibious one. Obi-Wan dove deep underwater and reappeared again in a different area, his gaze calm and measured as they studied one another’s faces. 

Qui-Gon treaded water at the man’s side, his long hair spilling around him, the graying ends drifting in the calm movement of waves. They watched the sun set and a deep sadness rose in Qui-Gon, knowing that their ways of life were too separate for Obi-Wan and him to coexist, that there could never be more than these moments of magic, as beautiful as they were. But perhaps, he thought as Obi-Wan turned to him, lit with the gleaming dying sunlight, that was all that anyone ever really had.


End file.
